This invention relates in general to weed guards and in particular to weed shields for use on farm machinery.
Most individuals who are familiar with farming and farm machinery are aware of the problem of weeds, stalks, vines and other plant portions becoming entangled around rotating farm machinery components such as vehicle axles as the machinery is used for such activities as harvesting. Typically, the region between the main body of the vehicle and an outlying wheel or other rotating component, where a portion of an axle or shaft is exposed, is most susceptible to this entanglement. In time and with continued use of the machinery, the buildup of such weeds and plants may become so severe that it adversely affects performance of the machinery if not completely stalling the rotating component. When stalling occurs, or when performance is influenced to an unacceptable degree, the machinery must be stopped and the entangling weeds and plants manually removed either by pulling the weeds loose or cutting the entangled mass.
In order to attempt to alleviate this problem as well as related problems associated with wheels and rotating components, the following listed patents disclose various ideas which have been conceived.
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 1,007,878 Krell 11/07/11 1,132,147 Arbeiter 3/16/15 1,988,086 Parker 1/15/35 3,672,134 McCallum 6/27/72 2,305,254 Hirschkorn 12/15/42 ______________________________________
Krell discloses a guard for automobile wheels wherein a guard plate is adapted to automatically protect a wheel and particularly the tire portion, from stones or other obstructions for preventing the tire from being punctured. Although the guard plate acts as a shield, it is not designed nor intended to shield weeds or other plants from wrapping around the axle of the automobile.
Arbeiter discloses a guard for the wheels of sulky or gang plows which can be easily and quickly applied to the rear wheel in order to protect the rear wheel from dirt, weeds, and the like which may gather and retard the operation of the wheel. The disclosed guard provides only marginal shielding in that the angular plate does not extend completely over the end of the wheel and the guard is not positioned close to the ground. Consequently, the gaps left around the wheel will permit weeds and other plants to become entangled around the shaft.
Parker discloses a wheel guard for use with wheel cultivators and other agricultural machinery to prevent entanglements of growing plants and other vegetation in the spokes of the wheel. The guard consists of a U-shaped member which is supported by a transverse bar which extends from one side of the vehicle to the opposite side. The requirement of the transverse bar as well as the small size of the guard itself means that the disclosed design would not be suitable for the reel of a platform combine. The guard does not adequately cover the end of the wheel to prevent tall weeds, growing on an incline or bent to one side, from protruding into the spokes of the wheel as the machinery passes. Furthermore, the mechanical complexity of the device does not provide a simple, inexpensive, easy to install or removable device.
McCallum discloses a crop harvestor for cutting a standing crop and depositing the cut crop into a swath on the ground. The device includes a pair of crop guide shields which are disposed over the two gauge wheels which provide rolling ground suport for the platform. The shields also serve a dual function of directing the cut crop into a central region where it will be deposited on the ground. Of note is the fact that the shields do not, nor are they intended to, shield the rotatably reel from weeds and plants which might become entangled around the axle or hub.
Hirschkorn discloses a bean cutting apparatus wherein the apparatus may be shifted to and from operating or bean cutting positions by a connection with power arms. The apparatus includes deflecting plates and a plurality of deflecting rods which are oriented in a diverging manner in front of and on opposite sides of each front wheel of the tractor with which the apparatus is used. The deflecting plates and rods do not extend over the end of the front wheels and the open design of the rods could permit weeds and other plants to become entangled. The apparatus is not designed for use with the reel of a combine and would not be acceptable for such use.
There are also commercially available reel shields such as those offered by the John Deere Company. Two designs of weed shields offered by the John Deere Company appear on page 5 of the current John Deere catalog entitled "Grain and Maize Combines/Grain Windrowers." One design includes merely a metal bar formed in a generally rectangular shape and located forward of the reel, but to the side. Such a unit does not shield the weeds and plants which are in line with the reel hub and the open design of this shield is not effective to prevent weeds and plants from protruding into the hub portion. Another arrangement offered by John Deere is referred to as a "divider" and its purpose is to pick up and separate crops which are matted down or tangled. These dividers are not designed to cover the end of the reel and are not effective in preventing tall weeds and plants, and especially those bent or growing to one side, from wrapping around the reel hub.
Harvesting of such crops as soybeans with a reel and combine arrangement pose certain problems with respect to weed entanglement. While it is important to maximize the usable width of the reel and not to cut the soybeans, or similar crop, until the reel fingers draw the soybeans into the cutting blade, the fibrous nature of the plant stalk and stems and their height at harvesting result in a high likelihood of entanglement. Due to the height of the plants as well as the height of the various weeds which may be present in soybean fields, to be effective, a weed shield must be of sufficient height, to prevent weeds and plants from protruding into the corresponding hub portion at the end of the reel adjacent to where the shield is mounted. Furthermore, it would be an improvement to these various weed shield designs if such weed shields could be quickly and inexpensively added to existing equipment so that conversion would be available for virtually any conventional reel and combine without the necessity for major overhaul or extensive modifications.